Matching Pairs
by Aussiegirl41
Summary: Small Halloween fic I had in my head and quickly wrote tonight. For those of you who know it, this fits into the 'A Table for Two' universe. It's definitely not necessary to read it first, however. Enjoy the fluff!


John was sure Anna's whiskers, though physically impossible, twitched as their boss entered the restaurant.

"You said you'd dress up," she moaned, disappointed.

Charles Carson looked down at his clothes. "I did!"

John enjoyed the way his wife's body shimmied with frustration. He was in the clear when Mr Carson was in trouble, at least.

"We had the entire meeting about Halloween and-"

"I am wearing a costume," the older man interrupted.

John tilted his head in the exactly same manner as Anna, looking for some indication the outfit might have some hidden piece they were missing. However, there seemed to be no false limbs, no fake blood, no ghoulish head sticking out from a well-disguised pocket.

"You're wearing a suit," his wife corrected Mr Carson. "One very similar to what you wear every night."

"I'm a butler," the restaurant owner announced, looking down at his clothes in exasperation.

"Like… Lurch?" Anna wondered.

"No." Charles adjusted his coat. "Just a normal butler. One you'd find in many a house last century."

Anna managed a bewildered 'oh' in reply. For his part, John gave his employer what he hoped came across as an encouraging smile before he returned to his duties and not the pained grimace that threatened.

"Have you uploaded the photos to the Facebook and Twitter pages?" John asked much later. Anna was keen on using social media as a marketing tool.

"I have." She wriggled temptingly to retrieve her mobile phone from the pocket of her tight leather pants.

"None of our esteemed leader?" he noted as he thumbed through the images.

"No." Anna sighed and turned towards the bar. "I'm not sure butler will be a hashtag people will be eager to follow tonight."

"No, but…" He didn't finish. Something caught his eye at the front counter. "Has Mrs Hughes got a reservation for tonight?"

"I didn't think so."

They both turned. Elsie Hughes was hesitating in the doorway.

When Anna rushed to greet one of their best customers, John found himself following.

"Well, I have a party you see, but I thought I might…"

"Of course," Anna said in a reassuring tone, even though Mrs Hughes didn't finish her sentence and Anna couldn't be sure as to what she was agreeing to. The restaurant was fully booked, after all.

John looked the woman up and down. She wore an old fashioned long black dress. He wasn't an expert in women's fashion, but he'd guess it was from Edwardian times. "You're some sort of Goth," he supposed.

"No." She pointed to her waist. "I thought this made it obvious."

He frowned. "A chain… A set of keys, scissors..." He shrugged.

"It's a chatelaine."

"A what?"

"A chatelaine. It's what housekeepers wore."

"Oh," he and his wife said in unison.

"Mrs Hughes, I didn't know you'd booked a table."

They all turned at Mr Carson's arrival.

"I haven't. I was just saying to Anna and John that I have to attend another party but I wanted to come in and see what you'd done decoration-wise."

"Mostly Anna's doing, I'll have to admit."

As if they were attending a match of tennis, he and Anna's head swivelled from Mr Carson to Mrs Hughes and back again as the other couple spoke.

"It's very impressive. I like your outfit, Mr Carson. You're a butler?"

"Thank you, Mrs Hughes. Yes. And you're… A turn of the century housekeeper?"

"Yes."

"Come and have a drink, at least."

As the 'butler' and 'housekeeper' walked off, John leaned on his cane, bringing him closer to Anna.

"Do you think they even remembered we were here?" he huffed.

"You don't think they planned their matching outfits, do you?"

"Surely not."

Silently, they stood and watched the older pair again. It seemed like Mrs Hughes laughed at everything the man behind the bar said.

"Maybe you'd better go get a photo for Facebook before they go get a room," he suggested after a while, eliciting a giggle from Anna.

"I'm not sure I want to interrupt them."

"Do you think they'll ever admit they're in love with each other?" John wondered.

"Of course. They just need a little push." She matched her words, pushing his body with her slight weight until they rocked together.

"What are you thinking, Mrs Bates?" he asked, suspicious at the plotting expression that had just spread across Anna's fragile features.

"Oh, I just thought of how we could help with that little push," she said in an excited rush.

He shook his head. "You're such a romantic, Mrs Bates," he chided softly.

"I learnt from the best, Mr Bates."

"What else have you learnt from the best, Mrs Bates?" he asked suggestively.

All thoughts of Charles Carson and Elsie Hughes flew from his head as she picked up a menu and threw him an enigmatic smile over her shoulder. She swayed between the tables, tending to diners' requests effortlessly as she wound her way through the restaurant. Her Halloween outfit matched her feline grace exactly, and left little to his imagination. He'd take credit for her, but deep down inside he knew the truth. It was he who still had many lessons to learn, and he was quite happy his wife was a very capable teacher.

The End


End file.
